What website platform should I use for my business?

Although it would be easier for me to just say “Hey I design on this platform only,” I realize that isn’t practical for everyone. There are many platforms out there, so I am going to say first – do your research. I have personally created websites on a few different platforms and I stick to those. Why? I believe they are leading in the website industry, but again that is from my perspective & personal experience. Okay, now let’s dive in!

Okay, so what are my go-to platforms and why do I reach for them?

I design on Showit, Squarespace and Shopify. Let’s go through them!

Showit

Showit is my personal favorite for maximum creativity. The last four websites I have designed have been on this platform. Showit was originally made for photographers, but now has a wide range of industries using their platform. What do I love about it? It is a drag & drop platform meaning that you can literally do whatever design you want on it. For some, this can be a reason it feels overwhelming… because the flexibility for design is endless. That is why I recommend hiring a designer to customize your website on this platform for you. For a custom website design project, I start by creating a sitemap of all the pages you need and then we deep-dive into each section thoroughly. Features, galleries, colors, transitions, links, etc. – you name it, I will help you with it all. 

If you can’t afford a custom website design, I recommend pre-designed Showit website templates. These can be very affordable when you are just starting out and likely designed for your specific industry or niche. The Cabin Templates are currently being created for this specific reason. You are just starting out, you are in need of a website fast, or you simply just don’t want to invest thousands of dollars into a custom design. I get it – this is exactly why I’m making them specifically for you. Swap out the colors, typography, photography and make it your own! If you want to read more about these, you can take a peek at the details here.

Are you a photographer, service provider or business not selling products? If so, I would totally recommend Showit. I could talk about Showit all day long, (blog post coming soon for even more in-depth details) but let’s just say this platform is perfect if you want a beautiful designed website that can be linked to other platforms to accept payment, schedule appointments, blog, etc.

Squarespace

Let’s talk about Squarespace. I do really enjoy Squarespace as a website platform because of the ease of use and it has basically everything you need in one platform. website, payment processor, email marketing, scheduling, etc. If you are just starting out, Squarespace in my opinion is an easy option for you to get started. It is a perfect starter website. That being said, if you have a lot of products and want a lot of custom features – I wouldn’t recommend it unless you want to pay for a developer to adjust things exactly the way you want them.

Here is an industry example – 

You are a salon/spa and you are just getting started in business. You need a website, but you also need the backend to use for scheduling appointments, accepting payment, payroll, etc. Could Squarespace support you? Yes. Squarespace uses Acuity scheduling within their platform making it easy for you to set up appointments and accepting payment, etc.

That being said, there are other spa/salon platforms made specifically for this such as Vagaro. I personally built a salon website a few years ago and we used a Showit website and then all of the booking buttons go to her salon’s Vagaro website. In my opinion, this was a more ideal solution because Vagaro was made specifically for Salon/Spas.

Shopify

If you are selling many products, Shopify is the ultimate platform. While the website design process is more complex, the backend of the inventory, orders, etc. is out of this world good. I have built a few Shopify websites in the last couple years and it is the leading industry for e-commerce brands. I would recommend hiring a website designer and or buying a website template for this platform if you are looking for pretty design + a very functional platform. 

I do take on limited Shopify website designs per year, so if you are looking into this or want to consult about it, please reach out and I would be happy to chat.

I hope you found this helpful. If you have any questions or want to set up a consultation call to discuss this topic further – I would be happy to do so!